Ghost Towns of South Carolina

When one hears the words "Ghost town", one usually conjures up images of an abandoned prospectors’ town somewhere out west, similar to the picture of Bodie, California seen above. However, South Carolina has its fair share of ghost towns. While tumbleweeds and swinging saloon doors may not provide the scenery for the South Carolina towns, the abandoned buildings are still rich in history with own tales of long-gone commerce and community.

South Carolina’s ghost towns can be divided into two groups. First, there are the true ghost towns. These are towns that no longer exist except for one or two remaining edifices. There is no viable commerce, and most of the residents have left the area. Given the population density of South Carolina, these are extremely rare. The only cases I know of are Ellenton, which was abandoned when the Savannah River Plant was constructed, and Andersonville, which was inundated when Lake Hartwell was created.

More common are the near-ghost towns. These feature a central business district with a few remaining buildings of historical significance, all of which have been abandoned or closed. However, there is often a vibrant community surrounding the area that still bears the former town’s name, and often a US Post Office with that name still serves the area. Examples that come to mind are the towns of Owings, Pomaria, Peak, Joanna, Cateechee, and Ware Shoals.

The decline of these towns can be attributed to many things. Changes in transportation routes often bypass the towns, as in the case of Pomaria and Peak with Interstate 26. More often, the main industry leaves town, as was the case with textile mill in towns such as Startex/Tucapau and Joanna. Sometimes the town is subsumed into a larger community, as was the case with Cityview and Taylors in the Greenville area.

Over the summer I hope to visit some of these locations and take photographs. I’m currently creating a Google Map of these locations, and hope to record the locations and brief description. Who knows, this might even turn into a book project. However, I’m not sure how the denizens of these towns would react to having their community labeled a "ghost town."

In addition to my Google Map, I’m using several other resources for my research. I’ll list these below:

South Carolina, A Day at a Time by Caroline W. Todd and Sidney Wait – This book goes county by county, listing interesting out-of-the-way places and communitys in the state.

USGS Geographic Name Information System (GNIS) – I’ve mentioned this resource before. If a place has a name in the United States, be it town, community, cemetery, stream, hill, or hollow, chances are it can be found here.

And finally, I have extracted data from GNIS and created my own little application for just South Carolina place names. You can search by place name or county, and clicking on the link will bring up a new window with the location in Google Maps.

So, with four-day work weeks over the summer, I may use my Fridays to visit some of these locations.

Published by

Tom

80 thoughts on “Ghost Towns of South Carolina”

I’ve been to a couple of your near ghost towns and I can think of a few that haven’t made your list that could fit on it rather well. One of them is Grover, SC just south of last weekend’s home away from home. The USPS site says that the PO belongs to St. George with a zip of 29477, but the building still has a sign that says Grover with a zip of 29447. Not much there besides the PO and the church across the street. Ulmer, Cassatt, Mts Carmel & Croghan come to mind as well. But from my recollection no historical buildings…

Grover, SC is there in all it’s radiant glory. The Murray’s, Westburys, Spells, Utseys, Dukes and Rhumps just might take issue with the fact that their beloved town no longer exists. Once known as Murray’s Crossroads, the town has a very interesting history. If you ask the locals, they will tell you that Grover is the gateway to St. George, regardless of the zip code.

Here is another one to add to the list. It is about 5 miles south of Mt. Carmel and while Mt. Carmel has a few buildings that are occupied, Willington is nothing more than a crossroads with a series of abandoned brick building on one corner.

Looking for ghost town Shain Rock which was located near Clemson, SC in Pickens County. It was now as a location of a silver mine between 1760 and 1800. Also trying to locate Pointing Rock in Pickens County SC

A friend of mine & I went on an adventure & got “locked in” the abandoned town of Pinckneyville a few months ago…it wasn’t that difficult to find, I believe that I saved the directions, from Greenville, it took a little over an hour or so to get there. Got some neat pics & also a few creepy EVP’s, one in particular taken near “the hanging tree” you can hear a woman weeping and the words…’not guilty’..it was really a cool experience & I would love to go again, but there is a gate there that does have a lock & although it is a “state highway” route on a map, it is also a “Private Driveway”, there is a family that has a summer house there . They were not familiar w/the town or the history. Their son thought that it was “cool” the parents were less than thrilled 2 women knocked on their door late at night due to the gate being unlocked when they entered the ‘road’ (which is really like a mile or longer “hog path”, full of deep ruts & grooves) & being locked w/a padlock when they tried to leave. So, I strongly caution anyone who wants to go to Pinckneyville to find the family and gain permission of them or chance being locked in if the family decides to go back to their hometown at night & locks you inside…this is not a gate you could simply crash a truck through or go around either, we thought about that before trying to find exactly ‘who’ had locked us in there….the tape is hilarious.

I recently purchased a home believed to have been built at the same time as Pickneyville. Are there any complete structures remaining at the site. I want to compare any archectural features with any remaining building with my house. The home I purchased is on the National Registry as the Hugh Means house, Jonesville , SC.

I may be a descendent of Hugh Means or his ancestors. I’m thinking about holding a Means family reunion in Union County sometime in the fall of 2016. It would be wonderful if a small group of us could drop by for an hour to see the house. I visited it in the early 1980s and have photos of its interior and exterior. Hoping to strike up a communication with you. All the best, –Bruce Means

steelseller says:
I remember visiting two ghost towns as a child, I am now in my 50s, that were located in Fairfield County- Strother and Shelton.

Shelton now has people living where the town was, but the town is gone. The buildings were still there when I was around 12. I still have an old soda bottle that was made in Shelton. A plant capable of making bottles gives you some idea of the size of the town.

Strother was located on the banks of the Broad River on the Fairfield side just after you cross the river bridge on Hwy 34. It was on the right side when coming from Newberry. All that was left when I was a child was the RR depot- gone now. My Dad, born in 1918, said there were other buildings there when he was a child.

My grandfather Donald B. Clayton Sr. was raised on his parent’s farm about a mile south of Shelton, SC along with his sister Edith (Wright). Google is not aware of Shelton, but Mapquest places a pin correctly on the former collection of about four buildings that have been gone for many decades now. Edith Wright was the “postmistress” of Shelton; the train would slow down where Mapquest identifies “Clayton Depot Road”, extend a mechanical arm, and snag the mailbag that Edith would hang out once a day. “Shelton Ferry Road” on the west bank of the Broad River is marked, as is “Shelton Road” on the east bank. Gone but not forgotten.

Up for auction is this rare Shivar Beverages advertising mirror/thermometer.It is for Shivar Pale ale Ginger Ale.It states on the front of the bottle :Made with the celebrated Shivar Springs Mineral Water.This Spring was located in Fairfield Co.,Shelton,South Carolina.I found out this was in business from 1900-1950.The piece is 5.5″ wide x 8.75″ tall.It is contained in a metal frame.The condition is really good,with working thermometer and very little paint loss of graphics.It seems to be painted reverse on glass.T is a little paint loss in the letters and logo on bottom.But is not very distracting on the piece.It still looks great.any questions please ask.I will be glad to send pictures by request.S/H will be $6.00 priority,U.S.Will ship to other countries,shipping quotes can be given.
The location is printed on the front of the bottle also.The entire bottle has written on it.CONTENTS 32 FLUID OZ. SHIVAR PALE DRY GINGER ALE PREPARED WITH THE CELEBRATED SHIVAR SPRING WATER SHIVAR SPRINGS BOTTLING CO. SHELTON,S.C.

Travis, I’m sorry, but I just saw your question. Tom is correct w/his info on it. We may go back, but waiting for hunting season to be over, because one half of it was well marked on the right side of the dirt road going into what used to be the town as belonging to a hunt club. I wish I could find out the family who has a home down that road and get permission from them to go back, because their driveway is part of that old road and they have a gate that they lock and there is no way of going around it. If I can’t find the family, I guess we’ll be walking that long stretch of road in the dark, lol.

Kittie, thats awesome that you went to pinckneyville. I had a friend go there awhile back and he was so creeped out there he will very rarely will talk about it. He also got locked in and had to spend the night there. I’m going into the Marines in March 2011 and really want to do some traveling before leaving, and Pinckneyville definetly has caught my interest just from listening to my friends story. I’ve been into old abandoned houses that are said to be “haunted” but I want to go and see the real thing. I’m in York/McConnels, SC so its roughly an hour from me. I’d really like to check it out before going into basic training in March, but I’d only want to go with someone who’s expierienced and been there before.

Jeff H. I have been there at least 3 times and it’s always something different. I usually go w/a friend (well armed due to coyotes) and walk down the 2.3 mile road that is like a pig path. Just email me if you’re interested in going if you’re back in town. It’s cool. Just for fun if for nothing else. I think my dentist office is more haunted than Pinckneyville is, for real. LOL

You might want to check out Lydia over near Hartsville.
This was a town built on speculation of a railroad line that never showed up. I know that it once had a bank because the old bank vault is still standing in some brush off the road. There’s several other old buildings there left over from back then. Here’s a link to a site someone put up about the history http://www.lydiasc.net/lydia/lydiaheyday.htm

i saw that yall have been talking about pinckneyville on here and my family is the one who has the summer house down their, and kittie danger i believe that i am the one who went and unlocked the gate for you and your friend. i can prove it to, you followed me up the mile long road i was on the 4 wheeler in front of you when we got to the gate, you got out and offered to hold the light for me to unlock the lock on the yellow gate. and i can assure you that the town is not haunted because i have been up there countless times at night and never heard anything creepy.

Thanks for the update, Tyler. So, if I wanted to visit the site for historical or photographic purposes, would you be the one to contact? I’m more into history and interesting places than haunts and ghosts.

Hi Tyler, I’ve only heard creepy EVP’s once, the other times it was quiet. We did get some interestingly ghostly looking photos of phantom horses and riders though. I appreciate you letting us out and not making us spend the night. You are a true gentleman. Maybe you’d like to go w/us sometime and see if you pick up on anything weird….?

You might try Newry, SC, which is now a part of Seneca, SC, although the borough was once it’s own town. The homes are still occupied, and post office operational, but the general store, foreman’s office and textile mill are all abandoned.

If you hang around the Post Office long enough to catch one of the older locals, you could probably fish some information about the history of the place and what’s going on there now.

hey tyler, i just went to pinckneyville about a week or 2 ago and it looked like the CIA or some government agency has moved in down there, we were escorted out of there by either us troops or government agents.

I’ve been wanting to get back to Glenn Springs, on the SE side of Croft St Park in Spartanburg County. I lived on the N side in Huntington Woods in HS, and went through GS occasionally. It’s an old resort location. I recall a number of abandoned or semi-abandoned but impressive buildings (I think). But I never got to nose around down there, and certainly didn’t have a camera at the time.

Just browsing the internet trying to find any info about shelton, sc came across this site ghost towns of sc. I grew up in shelton my mother still lives there. Some one named Mike posted he has a Shivar Beverages ad mirror/themometer for acution I am interested if you still have them. If so please send me an e-mail @ gbwilson2000 at aol.com. Hope to hear from you

Recon – I think I know how that happened. The county has blocked the road to prevent vandalism and further damage to the site. However, there are several landowners along the access road to Pinckneyville, and they also have keys to that gate and could allow someone access.

When we visited a couple of weeks ago the Union Historical Society provided us a key to the gate. When we got there it was already unlock, and we passed a pickup truck pulled down one of the side dirt roads.

If you would like to visit, just call the Union County Museum, and they can arrange a time.

True, they have a private driveway further down the road, they could gate that if necessary, but why gate a STATE road in which we pay taxes on and then you “must gain approval” from Union county in which to visit? Uh-Uh. I don’t like that in the least.

Another neat place to visit used to be Newry SC..I used to live just outside of that small town As A kid and me and my friends used to play in the old cotton mill..It still had Cotton Gins in it. People used to use the Gins for the cotton they grew themselves after the mill was shut down. I haven’t been there In Many years and from what i’ve heard its been vandalized and only lord knows what else..Another thing I found odd though was when i was growing up in the town next to Newry I never met anyone from there..And not many people even know of the town. I was told there was a book written on the towns history by An older woman who died of a brain tumor.

ok im trying to find out why travis has not added to this after his last post im moving to union s.c. and i would like to know more about this “pinckneyville ” and what is really going on there any info will help thanks

EJ, I was down at Pinckneyville a few months ago with some friends, we went down there at night, so we didn’t get to see a whole lot but from what I could see it hasn’t changed much around the town, but we walked into the woods a peace behind the monument and we could see a 3 army vehicles and some other cars parked just behind the monument. we left soon after, but it looks like the CIA or some other government agency is doing something down in there.

I lived near Union for about half my life, and have been to Pinkneyville many times. The remains are scarce, and what is there has been littered and defaced to obscurity, I first visited Pinkneyville as a child sometime in the mid 1970`s. Pinkneynille is located where the Pacolet and Broad Rivers meet, if remains of old settlements interest you I would recommend a few miles North up the Pacolet River Grindal Shoals. This site is much less know of and just a little harder to access but it once boasted a saw mill, Gris mill, as well as several homes. Grindal Shoals was also a popular stop for a small group of Confederate solders who camped there on more than one occasion

Thanks for the info, Edward. We were able to arrange a visit to Pinckneyville with the Union County Historical Society, and we found pretty much what you described. I was disappointed that I couldn’t find the grave of a namesake – another Thomas Taylor.

I first heard about Grindal Shoals in one of John Lane’s books. Based on your description, I think I need to check that one out. Thanks for the tip!

I vaguely remember seeing something in a book my grandpa had, about abandoned towns from the revolutionary war era or before. There were several, I think in SC & GA, fairly close to the coast or inlets. Does anyone know what they were called? My interest is picqued! It’s driving me nuts.

One place that I can tell you in SC that is definitely a ghost town is Chappells, SC. I learned about it from a photographers website and decided to visit it a few months back. It truly is a ghost town. There are the remnants of what used to be a town. The buildings are all abandoned on what is left of Main St. As a matter offact, if you aren’t careful you’ll drive right by it. U really have to look for it. IN the woods are old falling down houses. Crows lived in one or two buildings. I managed to get some pics of a couple of them. It’s in Newberry county. First true ghost town I’ve found.

There is an abandoned town in or near Allendale, SC. There is a main street that looks like it is straight out of a movie set. All the buildings are abandoned and there is a fence that has been erected on both sides of the street in front of all the buildings. Every single motel, restaurant and gas station leading into town is also closed. It seems like it was abandoned in the recent past. Does anyone know what happened here? It looks as if everything closed up at the exact same time.

Hi, all. I’m from Wheeling, West-by-God-Virginia, traveling to visit Surfside Beach, SC. As my husband and I are driving through this gorgeous state, we can’t help but wonder why there are SO MANY abandoned houses and businesses along the busy roadways. So many run-down homes, that appear to just need some basic landscaping and minor repairs. Otherwise, they appear to be sturdy, one-story homes, grown over by nature. Beautiful brick homes- lots of them! Gas stations and convenience stores, long gone, also grown over.
As I type this, we are heading to the beach, but we couldn’t drive another mile without trying to find some information, or someone to ask online. So, does anyone have any explanations or reasons for all the empty forgotten places?
For some inexplicable reason, this is tugging at my heartstrings…I’ve never been to SC in my entire life, but it feels “homey”. I love this place…
Any info at all would be greatly appreciated! Please satisfy my curiosity! Thanks in advance to anyone taking the time to reply.
Brightest blessings, all.

I know for a FACT that there are dozens, if not hundreds of ghost who occupy the address 415 Trestle Rd. In Greenwood , S.C. Because I stayed there for two months remodeling the doublewide on that property. Not sure if it was something to do with old train trestle or what, but I saw and heard MANY ghosts while there. Matter of fact, I did not complete the job and my wife and I got out of there fearing for our lives.

Fairfield County is great area to ride around and see historic places, but as such is either undiscovered or largely ignored.
Many fine old homes have been destroyed or allowed to rot. Here are a few places that are still with us.

Turn onto Shelton Rd. off highway 215 you will see a stately two story stucco home on the corner facing the highway. This is the Faucette House. It was looted by yankees during Shermans daring attack on mostly women, children and the elderly in Feb. 1865. Before slithering off, those brave warriors attempted to fire this home. There is a burned place even now on the stairway in the house. A slave extinguished the fire. To see what little is left of Sheldon, continue to the end of Sheldon
Road at the railroad and you will have arrived.
There are other such instances of this type in the area, one of which is a home still standing in Blair. It is a beautiful place that has been very nicely restored. It also has a burned place on the floor left by the arsonists that has an interesting story behind it.
Further down 215 you will pass the Feasterville academy and boarding house. Across the road is the old Liberty Universalist Church which is no longer in use, but is still well maintained and worth a look.
Still heading south you will see the Monticello Methodist Church where yankees encamped but spared the church. Just down the road is the magnificent Davis Plantation. It is occupied but last time I was by there, it was for sale for just a few million. It to was left standing by the yankees. I have never heard why. Federal troops did destroy many a lot of homes and buildings but not all.
Moving on toward the South, you can see the giant derrick at the abandoned VC Sumner nuclear site across lake Montecello.
I don’t think there are any roads, paved or dirt that I haven’t been over in the area.
After over 50 years of exploring Fairfield, Chester and York counties; I am still fascinated with them.
If I wanted to learn more, I would go the the Fairfield History museum in Winnsboro. Cornwallis occupied Winnsboro for a time during the revolution. There you can find maps and publications loaded with information exhibits and a very helpful staff. Talk to Pelam Lyles if she is there. Probably one thing that would be most helpful is to purchase a copy of “A Fairfield Sketchbook”. Not cheap but a fine reference. Sadly, some places referred to in the book have faded away since its publication.
Fairfield has a long history and many tales to tell of war, settlements long gone or ghost towns if you prefer; slavery, “reconstruction” ghosts, witches and long abandoned cemeteries with sunken graves, deep in the woods.